Borealis or Wolverine

The two routes share one station, Chicago Union Station. The table lists what each shows and how long each takes; the route pages carry the full stretch tables.

Side by side

BorealisWolverine
EndpointsChicago Union Station to St. Paul-MinneapolisChicago Union Station to Pontiac
Duration, end to end7 h 31 m6 h 26 m
FrequencyDaily5 days a week
Trains1333 westbound, 1340 eastbound350 eastbound, 355 westbound
Named stretches with a cited source74
ShowsBig rivers, Big cities, WildlifeBig cities
Headline stretchUpper Mississippi RiverIndiana Dunes
Headline stretch in daylightwestbound: daylight Mar to Oct; dark Nov to Jan; dusk Feb, 5:26 p.m.; eastbound: daylight, 1:03 p.m.eastbound: daylight Feb to Nov; dawn Dec to Jan, 7:36 a.m.; westbound: dark, 9:27 p.m.

Duration, frequency, and daylight are computed from the Amtrak GTFS timetable (fetched 2026-10-15) for the representative trip in each direction; daylight is the phrase for the headline stretch, the highlighted row of each route page. Named stretches are counted from the cited route guides. How these are computed.

Stations both routes serve

Chicago Union Station

In the order the Borealis reaches them. Transfer times are not checked.

Route pages